In this paper we are trying to analyse youth migration in the European Union and its impact on national and regional development and the relative labour markets. Beyond the theme of brain-gain and brain-waste, in fact, youth mobility effects are heterogeneous and include several aspects on this theme: labour-occupational insertion of intra-EU youth migrants, employment and unemployment rate, type of employment, correspondence between employment and education, the role of circular and returning migrants.

These aspects have been analysed, where possible, at regional level in order to see “how” youth mobility affects regional development in the different areas, looking also at highlighting differences and similarities on socioeconomic performance in core and peripheral regions. An evaluation of the differences between the occupational situation of young migrants or returnees and the national/regional situation of locals was conducted, in both origin and destination areas; it highlighted several similarities.

The results presented here are based on national and European official data and 80 in-depth interviews conducted in the framework of the H2020 funded project YMOBILITY that is focused on mobility of youths aged from 15 to 35 in the EU territory. For the Italian case study, presented here, two different groups have been considered: on the one hand, Italians who moved abroad and then returned in Italy; on the other hand, members of two communities that moved to Italy, in particular Romanians and Spaniards. The areas of interest taken into account by the analyses are Rome (core) and the Apennines (peripheral region).

In this paper we are trying to analyse youth migration in the European Union and its impact on national and regional development and the relative labour markets. Beyond the theme of brain-gain and brain-waste, in fact, youth mobility effects are heterogeneous and include several aspects on this theme: labour-occupational insertion of intra-EU youth migrants, employment and unemployment rate, type of employment, correspondence between employment and education, the role of circular and returning migrants.

These aspects have been analysed, where possible, at regional level in order to see “how” youth mobility affects regional development in the different areas, looking also at highlighting differences and similarities on socioeconomic performance in core and peripheral regions. An evaluation of the differences between the occupational situation of young migrants or returnees and the national/regional situation of locals was conducted, in both origin and destination areas; it highlighted several similarities.

The results presented here are based on national and European official data and 80 in-depth interviews conducted in the framework of the H2020 funded project YMOBILITY that is focused on mobility of youths aged from 15 to 35 in the EU territory. For the Italian case study, presented here, two different groups have been considered: on the one hand, Italians who moved abroad and then returned in Italy; on the other hand, members of two communities that moved to Italy, in particular Romanians and Spaniards. The areas of interest taken into account by the analyses are Rome (core) and the Apennines (peripheral region).